ML19016A143

Orano Federal Services LLC, Submittal of One-Time Authorization to Ship Rinsc Spent Fuel Having Excess Burnup in the Bea Research Reactor

ML19016A143
Person / Time
Site:	07109341
Issue date:	01/09/2019
From:	Noss P Orano Federal Services
To:	John Mckirgan Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
References
FS-19-0019
Download: ML19016A143 (8)

Text

orano Mr. John McKirgan, Chief Spent Fuel Licensing Branch U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Two White Flint No11h - Mail Stop 4 B34 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 January 9, 2019 FS-19-0019

Subject:

One-Time Authorization to Ship RINSC Spent Fuel Having Excess Burnup in the BEA Research Reactor Package, Docket No. 71-9341

Dear Mr. McKirgan:

Orano Federal Services LLC, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), hereby submits a request for a one-time authorization of a shipment of ce11ain spent fuel elements from the Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center (RINSC) reactor having a burnup calculated to be slightly in excess of the amount approved in the transportation cask's Certificate of Compliance (CoC). This shipment is slated to occur using the BEA Research Reactor Package (BRR, NRC Docket No. 71-9341) in June, 2019. This one-time shipment request is being made to facilitate continuing operations of the reactor atRINSC.

Orano believes a one-time shipment approval is more appropriate than an amendment of the ce11ificate. RINSC ships spent fu~l very infrequently and it will not be known for several years what the bumup of subsequent elements may be.

The excess burnup is only 0.2% more than the approved burnup. The evaluation which follows (as Attachment A) demonstrates that the thermal and radiological characteristics of the subject elements still fall weil within the bounds of the.

existing safety analysis. The structmal and criticality aspects are also addressed.

Orano requests that the approval of this req_uest be granted no later than May 31, 2019, to suppo11 the planned shipment. Please let me know at your earliest opportunity if your schedule can suppm1 this shipment date.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 253-552-1321 or phil.noss@orano.grot.tp.

Page 1 of8

orano Yours Truly, Philip Noss Licensing Manager Orano Federal Services LLC Copies:

Document Control Desk Director, Division ofSpent Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Doug Morrell, Idaho National Laboratory Donald Darrington, Idaho National Laboratory Richard J. Smith, Project Manager, Orano Federal Services LLC Keith Wilkerson, Contracts, Orano Federal Services LLC Attachments:

January 9, 2019 FS-19-0019 i Attachinent A, Safety Analysis of RINSC Spent Fuel Elements Having a Bumup Slightly in Excess of the Approved Value Page 2 of8

orano Attachm~nt A '

January 9, 2019 F~-19-0019 Safety Analysis of RINSC Spent Fuel Elements Having a Burm.,p Slightly in Excess of the Approved ValLfe Introduction Fuel from the Rhode Island Nucleat Science Center (RINSC) has been _approved for transport in the BEA Research Reactor Package (BRR), NRC Docket No. 71-9341. The NRC Ce1tificate of Compliance for the B_RR, Revision 6, permits a maximum burp.up of 52.5 MW d for each RINSC fuel elernenJ. The BRR i_s capal;,le of transpo1ting up to eight RINSC fuel elements. RINSC has iqentified five spent fuel elements having a burnup $li~htly i_n exce~s of the limit specified in the ce1tificate as follows:

(1) 52.61 MW d (2) 52.51 MWd (3) 52.51 MWd (4) 52.55 MWd (5) 52.55 MWd All ofthe othet elements planned for shipment have a burnup less thah or equal to the limit of 52.5 MW d. As shown; the maximum excess butnup "is 0.11 MW d.

The following evaluation demonstrates that the safety of the BRR package when transpo1ting the subject elements is equivalent to the safety of the BRR package when. trahspo1ting currently licensed payloads. Of note,_ the evaluation con$ervatively assume:'> that all_ eiglJ.t fuel elements in the payload have the maximum excess burnujJ. The affected thermal, shielding, and criticality

• characteristics of the payload fall well within the bounds fonadioactive and fissile material established by the currently licensed payloads of the BRR packa~e. The requested one-time shipment wifl meet all of the applicable requirements of IO CFR 71 [1 ].

Description of Contents RINSC fuel currently licensed for shipment in the BRR package is 19.75%

enriched U3Sh, with a inaxitnumfuel loadii1g of275 g U..,235~ a minimum cooling time of 120 days, and a maximum bi.mi.up of 52.5 MW d. Additional fuel pa1*ameters al'e summatized in Table 5 2-1 O of the SAR. The single payload which is the subject of this request differs from the currently licensed payload Page 3 of8

orano January 9, 2019 FS~19-0019 1 only in burn up an1 cooling time. The subject RTNSC fuel payload has a 1

maximum burnup of 52.61 MW d and a minimum cooling time of 589 days.

Descriptic;m of Packaging The material will be shipped in the BRR Package, NRC Docket No. '71-'9341 which is described.in SAR Revision 14 (BRR SAR) [2]. The BRR is a lead-shielded cask developed initially for the transpoit of irradiated MTR-type and TRIGA fuel. It includes inner and outer shells connecting massive end structures an*d a bolted lid. The principal sttuctural material is ASTM TYPe 304 stainless steel. The shells encase lead.shielding ofapproximately 8 inches thickness. The bottom end and the uppet* shield plug ate a]so made of stainless steel-encasecl lead. The interior cavity is nominally 16 inches in diameter and 54 inches loJJg, The*.cask featutes polyurethane foam impact limiters at each endi encased in stainless steel.shells. The lid is sealed with a butyl rubber containment.0-ring.

A vent port in the lid and a drain port: in the lower end structure axe sealed with butyl rupber sealing washers. The cask is leak tight in accordance with ANSI N14.5 [3]. Th~ gross weight of the package is 32,000 lb. The cask is fully described in Revision 14 of the BRR Safety Analysis Rep01t.

The licensed design includes five different baskets to accommodate the various fuel types which have been approved for transpmt. The currently licensed square fuel basket (Assembly A5 on drawing 1910-01-03-SAR) will be used in the transpo1t of the subject RINSC fuel payload.

Structural Evaiuation Since the subject RINSC fuel payload is structurally identical to the curtently licensed RINSC fuel payload, the cm1'ent information in Chapter 2 of the BRR SAR is applicable to the subject payload.

Thermal Evaluation Per Table 5.2-11 of the.BRR SAR, the decay heat of the currently licensed RINSC foe I paylQad is 22.5 watts per element. Per section 3.1,2 of the BRR SAR, Content's Dec4y Heat, the maximum decay heat approved for a single cavity of the square fuel basket is 30 watts. Variation 111 decay heat due to an increase in bu1nup can '!:>e derived from Table 3 and Table 6 in Regulatory Guide

~-~4 [4). Figure 1 and Figure 2 b~low show the relative change in decay heat,

. P1IP;, due to a.relirtive change in burnup, B1IB,;, at specific cooling times. for 28 kW/kgU PWR fuei and 30 kW/kgU BWR fuel, respectively. These two specific power levels are applicable to the RINSC fuel, which has a specific power of Page 4 of 8

orano January 9, 2019 FS-19-0019 24.629 kW/kgU per SAR Table 5.2-10 [2]. Figure 1, is for burnups of25 to 50 MWd/kgU and enrichments of 2.4 to 4.2 wt% U-235, while Figure 2 is for burnups of20 to 45 MWd/kgU and enrichments of 1.9 to 3.8 wt% U-235. The subject RINSC fuel payload has a maximum burnup of:

52.61MWd (0.275/0.1975) = 37*8 MWd/kgU where the fuel element contains 275 g ofU-235 at an enrichment of 19.75%. In both figures, solid reference lines are plotted corresponding to a slope of one.

Cooling times of I year to 10 years are plotted. A IO year cooling time results in the maximum slope, with slope decreasing for cooling times greater than I 0 years (not shown, but available in Regulatory Guide 3.54 data).

2.500 ~---------------

fl 2.250 -l------~---------

.(1) 0

.E a.-2.000 +---------------~

(I) ""i;.

Cl) D..

.;- 1.750 ;-, ------------

;.,-;;,!Y"~---

.c cu u (I)

(!) :C 1.500 '!-------~~----,..-=----

.~

m 1.250 1.000 -ir-=='-----,----~--~----,--~

1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

Relative Change in Fuel Burnup, Bt/Bi

,,,,,, 1 Yr

--- 2 Yrs 5Yrs

• 10Yrs Figure 1 - Decay Heat Variation with Burnup (PWR, Specific Power= 28 kW/kgU)

Page 5 ofB

orano C'II 2.500 -,-------~--------/----::a

~

2.250 ----------------

c

.5 ri..- 2,000 -i----------~--.~.-----

(1,) ~

ClQ.

• ~.;- 1. 750 -~-----~-eY-------,,-_.

. ro c3 a,

:C 1.500 -i------~>'-----:

~

• ffl 1.250 -l---,n.,/:'--

(D a::

• ~-...,..,.......

1.000 -*Jo="--~--~--~--~---,

1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2

2.25 Relative Change in Fuel Burn up,. Btf81 January 9, 2019 FS-19-0019

• * * * ** 1 Yr

=... - 2 Yrs 5Yrs

• 10Yrs Figure 2 - Decay Heat Variation with Burn up (BWR, Specific Power= 30 kW/kgU)

As shown by the two figures, it i$ reasonable to c_onclude that RINSC fuel decay heat will vary linearly with increased decay heat, modeled by the following line equation:

Worst-case behavior occurs at a 10 year cooling time. From the curves, it can be caiculated that mmax = 1.25 and b = -0.25. Based on the currently licensed RINSC fuel payload burnup of 52.5 MWd and the subject RINSC fuel payload burnup of 52.61 MWd, the calculated RINSC fuel element decay heat for the subject payload is 22.6 watts (an increase of 0.1 watts). Thus, the subject RINSC fuel payload will be bounded by the currently licensed square fuel basket decay heat limit of 30 watts and the square fuel basket thermal evaluation in Chapter 3 of the BRR SAR is applicable to the subject payload.

Containment Evaluation Since the BRR package is leak tight (a leak rate less than 1 x 10-7 reference cc/sec. (air); in accordance with ANSI N14:5), then the current information in Chapter 4 of the BRR SAR is applicable to tl~e proposed payload.

Page 6 of8.

orano Shielding Evaluation January 9, 2019 FS~19-0_019 External radiation levels.generated by the currently licensed RINSC fuel payload 1 are discussed in Section 5.4.4~ External Radiation Levels, of the BRR SAR. It is shown that, based on BRR package side dose rates as detailed in Table 5.4-2 of the BRR SAR, the external radiation levels generated by the currently licensed RINSOfuel payload are bounded by the loose plate bo~ payload. The currently licensed RINSC fuel payload cask side dose rate is 3.8 mrem/hr (2.5 mrem/hr gamma and 1.3 mrem/hr neutron) while the loose plate box payload cask side dose rate is ~9.2 mrem/hr (0,5 mrem/hr gamma and 38.7 mrem/hr neutron).

Variations in shielded cask dose rates due to increases in burnup are discussed in Section 3.4.LI c;,fNUREG/CR-6716 [5]. It is concluded that neutron dose rates,

-~:. -

D11, will increase approximately as the burnup, B, to the power of four (D,; a B4) while gamma dose rates, Dy, will increase nearly linearly with bumup. When initial dose rates are known, final cask dose rates following an increase in burnup can be calculated using the following equations:

....., D = (Bf )D *.

.n,f B[ -n,i Dy,f = Br

....., Dy,t = (BB~ ) Dy,i Dy,i Bi

i.

Based on the currently licensed RINSC fuel payload burn up of 52.5 MW d and the subject RINSC fuel payload burnup of 52.61 MW d, cask neutron dose rates will increase by a factoi' of 1.0084, while cask gamnia dose rates will increase by a factor 1.0021 (no credit is taken for increased cooling time). Applying these factors to the dose rates calculated in the BRR SAR for the cmtently licensed RINSC fuel payload do not result in a significant increase for the subject RINSC fuel payload cask side dose rate (increase of less than 0.1 mrem/hi'). Thus, the subject RINSC fuel payload wHl continue to be bounded by the foc;,se plate box payload. The square fuel basket dose rates calculated in Chapter 5 of the BRR SAR are applicable to the subject payload.

Cl'iticality Evaluati<m In the currently licensed BRR criticality evaluation, all fuel elements are modeled as fresh fuel, with no credit taken for fuel element burnup or decay.

Thus, the current information in Chapter 6 of the BRR SAR is applicable to the subject payload.

Page7 of8

orano Package Operations January 9, 2019 FS-19-0019 Operation of the BRR package will follow the existing requirements for RINSC fuel detailed in Chapter 7 of the BRR SAR.

Acceptance Tests and Maintenance Program Since no changes are being made to the BRR package, the current information in Chapter 8 of the BRR SAR is applicable to the subject payload. Since this will be a one-tim.e shipment, there is no effect 90 the existing BRR pack~ge maintenanqe procedures.

Summary As shown above, the subject RINSC fuel payload has been fully described and evaluated for structural, thermal, containment, shieidjng, and criticality performance when transpmied in the BRR package. The subject, single-shipment payload exceeds the burnup limit currently licensed for RINSC fuel, but is still bounded by the existing evaluations within the BRR SAR. Thus, the

.subject payload meets all of the applicable requirements of 10 CFR 71.

References

1. Title 10, "Energy", Code of Federal Regulations, Pait 71, Packag;ng and Transportation of Radfoactive Mater;az.

2. AREY A Federal Services, BEA Research Reactor Package Safety Analys;s Report, Revision 14, November 2018

3. ANSI N14.5~2014, American National Standard for Radioactive Materials,._

Leakage Tests on Packages for Shipment, American National Startdatds Institute (ANSI), Inc.

4. Regulatory Guide 3.54, Spen1 Friel Heat GeneraUQfl ;n ah Independent Spent Fuel Sto_r(lge Installation? US NµcJe~r Regulatory Commission, R~vision 1, January 1999

5.

• NUREG/CR-6716, Recommendation$ on Fuel Paramet?rsfor Standard Techn;cal Specifications for Spent Fuel Storage Casks, US Nuclear Regulatory Commiss1on, March.2001 Page 8 ofB